Automatic golf ball teeing device



Dec. 18, 1945. GALE v 2,390,998

AUTOMATIC GOLF BALL TEEING DEVICE Filed Julyll, 1944 I s Shets-Sheet 1 450M420 6144.5. INVENTOR.

1 F1 59 ATTORAM'YS.

Dec. 18, 1945. GALE 2,390,998

AUTOMATIC GOLF BALL 'TEEING DEVICE Filed July 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i LEONA/Q0 62145 INVENTOR.

' ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 18, 1945. GALE AUTOMATIC GOLF BALL TEEING DEVICE Filed July 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR BY f ATTORMYSS.

Patented Dec. 18, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Leonard Gale, Washington, D. (3., assignor to Frederick Klein, New York, N. Y.

Application July 11, 1944, Serial No. 544,364

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in golf ball teeing devices for use in the practice ofdriving golf balls, and more specifically to such a device which is automatic in its action.

I am aware of various golf ball teeing devices heretofore patented and which to my knowledge have .never been successfully commercialized, due in part to defects in structure which will not withstand exposure to the elements and shocks to which the'device is subjected by a golf club when striking a ball from the tee; also, such teeing'device require some disconcerting manual act on the part of a golfer, either foot or hand actuated to cause a ball to be teed'up. It is therefore the primary object of this inventionto provide a gravity operated golf ball teeing devicewhich is automatic in its action in that it does not require motor or other outside power other than the weight of the golf balls to effect operation, that is, a golf ball is automatically teed up after a previously teed golf ball has been driven from the tee, thus a golfer may assume a standing position relative to the tee and successively drive golf balls therefrom without altering his or her. foot position and with continuous mental concentration upon the striking of the ball rather than experiencing disconnecting interruptions which occur in manually actuated teeing devices.

Another featur of the invention resides in an automatic golf ball teeing device in which the working parts thereof are enclosed and protected against the elements and against damage by striking contact of the golf club, the only exposed part being a rubber tee member which gives as the head of the golf club follows through during the striking of a golf ball therefrom.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of an automatic golf ball teeing device which is rapid in its action in presenting a golf ball to teed position after a previously teed golf ball has been driven from the tee, thus expediting the play which is psychologically beneficial to the practicing golfer, and financially advantageous to the proprietors of golf practice driving ranges and professional golf instructors when the device ,is' installed at public golf driving ranges and private golf courses respectively.

Whereas I have set forth some of the outstanding features of my invention, other novel features Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view with the ball supply magazine removed, .the parts being illustrated in ball teeing position.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the ball feeding end of the device with the parts in the position illustrated in Figure2.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the-ball teeingend of the device with the parts inthe position illustrated inFigure-2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure '4, with a. portion of the lever elevator broken away and in section.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is an enlargedvertical transverse sectional view on the line 'll of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a. vertical longitudinal sectional view illustrating the position of the parts just prior to the upward movement of the tee member to tee position.

Figure 9 is a top plan'view of the ball feed release with the parts in the position illustrated in Figure 8- Referring to the drawings byreference charactors, the numeral l0 designates my improved golf ball teeing device in its entirety which includes a substantially L-shaped casing composed of a horizontally disposed base casing H having a removable cover for housing the ball teeing mechanism 12 and a vertical casing l3 which is substantially elliptical in cross section and closed at its top by a hinged cover [4. The vertical casing 13 is composed of an upper casing section It which houses a spiral ball runway l6 and combined with the casing section l5 provides a golf ball magazine. The lower outlet end of the spiral runway opens onto a downwardly inclined platform ll provided within and disposed at the top of the lower section 18 of the casing I3. The platform I! includes a ball receiving station l9 at one end, a ball discharge chute 20 at the' other end, and an intermediate ball releasing mounted in bearing cars 23 depending from the platform ll. Fixed to the shaft 22 is a U-shaped member 24, the legs of which constitute gates or stop :blades 25 and 2B which extend through slots 21' and 28 respectively provided in the platform H. The gates 25 and 26 are disposed at different radial angles, the gate 23 normally extending vertically to be in the path of the ball B whereas the gate 25 extends forwardly to normally be disposed out of the path of the ball A. The movement of the gate 25 is on a plane intermediate the ball receiving station l9 and the ball receiving station 2| whereby actuation of the member 24 by an upward push upon the depending arm 29 formed as anextension of the shaft 22 will cause the gate 26 to'move rearwardly'out of the] path of the ball B to release the same onto the chute and will simultaneously cause the gate.

to swing upwardly into a position to obstruct the passage of the ball A, however, upon the re- A lease of the upward pushvon the arm 29, the

to return to their normal positions, whereupon and has an inwardly extending finger 48 which when the gate is down, is disposed in the path of the ball D and it normally rests upon the outer side wall of the runway as best seen in Figure 2. An L-shaped actuating arm 49 extends from th inner end of the shaft portion 46 and -within the frame 3| as at 50, is a rock lever 5|,

thesame being off center and overbalanced at thefront head end 52 thereof. The front head end 52 of the lever 5| is constructed of a straight channel piece whereas the tail end 53 is substanthe ball A is permitted to roll to the dispensing station 2|, since the ball B has rolled to .the chute 20, and the station l9 has received the next lowest ball 0 from the golf ball magazine- The arm 29--is actuated by the golf ball teeing mechanism |2 now to be described and the ball B which has been released is picked up and conveyedto the teeend of the device. The platform H" at the ball i receiving station I3 isupwardly inclined from the rear wall of the'casingsection H! to cause the ball to rollthereagainst, whereas guide walls 30 confine the ball as itenters the releasing station 2| and during its passage down the chute20.

' Contained Within the base casing H is a rectangular shaped frame 3| which supports'an inclined trough shaped ball runway 32 by means of hanger brackets 33,- The rear high end of the runway 32 is disposed in vertical alinement with the ball dischargechute 20 and terminates short of the rear end wall of the-casing The lower or disch'arge end of the runway 32 terminates short of the front end wall of the casing l and the bottom wall of the same at the discharge end is provided;with a trip 'plate 34 having its rear end connected to the bightportion of a substantially U-shaped cradle member 35 which has its upstanding armspivoted to the sides-of the runway as at 3B. Also attached to the member 35 and extending rearwardly therefrom is a counterbalance weight arm 3-! which acts to normally swing the trip plate 34 upwardly, while the weight of the next ball D to be teed acts to hold the trip plate 34 down by reason of'its weight overbalancingthe counter-weight arm 31. When the trip plate is down, it rests upon-a fixed horizontal offset seat-38 formed on a'bracket 39 secured to one side of the frame 3|. An arm 40 extends forwardly from'one of the'a-rms' of the cradle -member 35 and the-free end thereof is provided with an elongated slot 4| which slidably receives a pivot pin 42 secured to the rear end of an angular rock arm 43 which is pivoted intermediate its ends to-the bracket 39 as at 44. When the trip plate 34 is up by reason of its being free of the Weight of a ball,'the front end of the rock lever Eassu-mes a substantially horizontal positiondo'r preventing the release of the tee lifting mechanism from a raised teeing position to a lowered ib'all pick upposition which will be fully explained hereinafter. A

The ball Dis releasably held upon the inclined "trip plate 34 until such time as it is to be released by a wire gate member 45, having a'transverse shaft portion 46 journaled in bearings '41 at the lower, end of the runway 32. The gate member extendsjalcng theouter side of 'the runway A tially u-shape and constructed of lighter tubular material. The head end 52 normally overbalances thetail end 53 although it is muchshorter inlengthfor-I utilize the leverage under the weight of a'ball picked up by the tail end to overbalance the. head end in spite of the fact that the head end is also under the weight of a. golf ball to be' lifted to teeing position. By making the tail end 53 U-shape, theccenter of gravity of thesame is :disposedbelow the pivotal axis of the lever. An overthrowspring 54 is located at the pivotal axis of the lever and has one end attached thereto and its other. end secured to a fixed bracket .55. The spring 54 is thrown past center in favor of the head end of the. lever when the head end moves downwardly and the tail end moves upwardly as illustrated in Figure 8.

Therock lever 5| functions as a ball elevator device for the reason that the tail end 53 delivers a ball from the platform H to the top of the runway 32, while the head end 52 thereof lifts a released ball from the lower discharge end of the runway'to' a teed position above the top of the casing -The rock lever 5| is disposed beside the runway 32 and fixed to the inner side of the heaclzendv 52Iis a U-shaped bracket 56 to which the arms "of av U-shaped' cradle member 51 are pivoted as at 58'. The cradle member 51 is pivoted ofi center and has: aweighted tail 59 extending in a direction toward and disposed'beneaththe lever. 5| with which it contacts to limit the counter-balancing of the weight of a tee 60 andball E supported by the cradle member. The te'e'fijl includes an inverted U-shaped base 6| pivotally mounted on a shaft 62 mounted in the opposed side arms of the cradle member 51,: and the tee-member is heldin a position normally perpendicular .to'the cradle member byra coil spring 63 mounted on the shaft 32,: one end of which bears againstflthe, bridge portion of the inverted U-shape'base memberwhile the other end :of'the springis bent laterally and extends. beneath the-bottom edge. of an adjacent ear of. the base member and which projects therebeyond to be. disposed in the path of. the. adjacent lower edge of the arm of the.cradle. member to engage the same when'the tee member 6|)v isupset to the dotted position illustrated in Figure, Iv-caused by the head of a golf clubstriking the tee member .as the ball E7 is struck therefrom. Secured'to the bridge portion of the inverted U-shapedbase 6| is-asolid'block 64 which istelescoped by the lower-end of a short rubber'tubular tee 65, the open top of which receives and supports the ball 1 E inteed position. A clamp 66 encircles the lower end. of the tubular tee 65 and secures it to the block 64. The tee member 60 is therefore movthe le is held in the pathoi the catch 8|.but

able up and down with the head end of the lever 5|, and is disposed relative to the discharge end oi the runway 32 so as to receive the ball I) when the head end of the lever is down and the gate 55. is lifted by reason of the head end of the lever striking and depressing the actuating arm J9. The top wall of the casing H is provided with an opening 5'] for the passage of the tubular tee 65 and ball E as the head end 52 of the lever 5| moves upward to ball teeing position,

For preventing the ball E from accidentally rolling on the tubular tee 65 during the upward movement of the head end 52 of the lever 5!, I provide a wire guard member 58 which. has its inner end bent to provide an angular ofisetpors tion 6.9, and a transverse shaft portion 10 jour-. naied in bearings H at a point directly above the sides of the channel head end 52. A tail piece '12 extends rearward beyond the axis of the shait portion I and is disposed in thechannel of the head end 52 to limit upward swinging movement of the guard member relative to lever as illustrated in Figure 8. A spring 13 surrounds the shaft portion and has one of its ends fixed to the channel head end 52 of the lever Wh le its otherend bears against the underside of the oifset portion 69 to impart a. normal upward move ment of the guard member, which movement is limited upon downward movement of the head end 52 of the lever by the tail piece striking the bottom of the channel from which. the head end 52 is constructed. The front tree end of the guard member is provided with a substantially right angularly bent guard finger 14 which is curved to accommodate the curvature of the ball E. As the head end of the lever 5| rises upward.- ly, and as the ball E passesthrough the opening 61, the finger guard strikes the top wall of the casing H, but at that time the tubular tee 65 has assumed a vertical position sufiicient to com..- plete the teeing of the ball E without fear of the ball accidentally rolling from the tee 95. A vertical guide wire 14' cooperates with the guard member 68 for preventing accidental unseating of the ball E from the tubular tee 65 during its'upward movement.

For releasably latching the head end 5| of the lever in a raised position when moved thereto with the ball E. supported upon the tee 65, I provide an arm 15 pivoted at its top as at 16 to a fixed bracket 11 and which is yieldably held in a substantially vertical position (Figure 5) by a spring 18, a fixed stop 19 being provided to limit forward movement of the arm. Pivoted to the lower end of the arm 15, as at 80, i a releasable catch member 8| having a shoulder 82 on the front edge normally disposed in a horizontal position by the action of a spring 83 carried by the pivot 80. The spring 83 tends to normally turn thecatch 8| to move the shoulder upwardly, which movement is limited by the catch striking a stop Shoulder 84 fixed to the arm I5, The shoulder ide of the catch may be pushed down to releasing position against the action of the spring. The fr nt ed of the catch. ha an inlined cam su face 8 to be engaged by the ansul Inst 8B of a penda t ee membe 81 fo med integral with a d depending from t e radle member 5 s he tee member 60 moves pward from its lower ball pick. up position to raised ba l teeing posit on, at h c time the a m 1 swings r arwardlv to enab e the fo t 86 to r se to a lev l to seat pon the sh ulde How.- ever; due to the fact that the we ght oi the. ball E overbalances the counter-balance weight 59 should the: tee member .69 move upwardly with out the weight of a ball thereon, the countere balance weight 59 rocks the cradle to cause the foot 86-. to be disposed out of the vertical plane and path of the catch 8 whereupon the tee member 6|! will not become latched in raised position. The .foot becomes released from the shoulder 82 icy-the tilting or swinging movement. of the legmember 3! when the ball E is struck from, the tee 65, however, it will not release unlessthe all Disin position upon the trip plate 34 which servesto lift the rock arm 43 out ofv the Path or releasing swinging movement of the foot. Should a ball fail to. reach. the discharge end of the nmwav :2 before a ball is hit. rock arm 43; will move to a pos tion to obstruct the lateral move, ment of the foot 85 to a position clearof: the shoulder 82, but when. the next ball to be. teed eventu lly reaches thedischarge end of the way 32. the weight of the same causes the rock arm 83 to move; out'of, he pathof h oot. whereupon the foot may move laterally and the head end 52 of the lever 5| moves down topick up the next bal 1: to be tee T e t e head end 52 of th l er 5| will ee ma n down should i reach its lower d h lt pick p position and the lower end of the runwar 'is empty of the ball 1;), f r und r such conditions, the foot 82 en ages beneath .a sprin catch B8 carried. by a fixed bracket 89 (Fi ure 8)... The Weight of a ball E supported upon the. teemem'e ber B0. rocks the same to cause the foot 92. to clear the catch.

The tail end 53 oi the rock lever 5| supports a ball basket 90 comprising an inclined bottom wall 9|, side walls 92' -92 and a front gate 93 having a right angularly disposed shaft pore tion 94 pivoted to a pair of spaced bearin ears 95 mounted on an inwardly extendingportion of the bottom wall 9|. gate 93 is curved downwardly to normally rest upon the forwardly extending portion of the bot-v tom wall 9| and also projects therebeyond into the path of an upstanding lug 96 on the frame 3| to cause the gate to lift up to release a ball from the basket and permit it to roll by-gravity onto the upper end of the runway 32 as best illustrated in Figure 2. The ball basket 90 also carries a finger 97 disposed in the path of the arm 29 so as to strike the same and swing it upward to move the gate 25 to open position and simultaneously move the gate 26 to ball obstruct-.- ing position whereby to' releaseball B and hold ball A in check until the arm 29 isareleased by the finger 9-1 as the basket moves down under the weight of the ball B and the leverage of the tail end of the lever.

For initially feeding golf balls from the mag-a.- zine I3 to the platform I1, I provide a vertical plunger 98 slidable in a central bearing 99 rising upwardly through the casing section |5 about which the spiral ball runway l5 winds. The top end of the plunger is provided with a head 99- and interposed between the head andthe bearing is" an expansion sprin I00 acting to normally hold the lower end of the rod directly above a lip |0| fixed to and extending from the member 24; Assume that the last golf ball of a sup-ply of golf balls has been fed to the lower end of the runway 32 and which ball is released to the tee 65 which remainsdown because there is no ball in the magazine or upon the platform l'l which may be ed to. t basket 9.01:0 d p s the ta l end of the lever 5| and lift the head end: The

The free end of the wire attendant may restock the ball magazine, but the lowermost ball can onlylroll to station I9 on the platform H, where the gate 25 is blocking its passa'geto the releasing station 2|.v The attendant or operator must press the plunger 98 down to cause -the:lower end to depress the tongue ||I| which causes the gate 25 to move out of the path of the ball A which enables the ball A to move to station 2| (Figure 9), and ball C to move to a position formerly occupied by ball A. The operator releases the plungerwhereupon the po. sttion of the gates 25 and 26 return to their former position which permits ball A in Figure 9 or ball B in Figure 3 to roll into the basket 90 which overbalances the head end of the rock lever, deposits a ball at the top of the runway, which ball rolls down and becomes ball D. Thus, the balls essential to the operation of the device are now in position, balls A and B are at-their respective stations l9 and 2|, ball D is at the end 'of the runway 32, andball E is in teed positio'n',-and it is from this operative position of the device that a description of a cycle of operationv willbe given.

In use, the casing I is'e'mbedded in th ground, so thatthe top of the casing is flush with the surface of the ground. Assume that theparts of the apparatus are in the position illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, whereupon the ball E is in teed position upon the tee 65, the next ball to be teed designated D is at the low end of the runway 32 and isheld back by the gate 45, the tail end53 of the lever 5| is in down position and the balls A and B are at their respective stations I9 and 2|. The golfer takes a position forward of the device and with the use of a golf club, proceeds to drive the ball E from the tee member 65. Should the 'club head contact the tee 65, it may be upset without damage to the mechanism as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 7, and automatically return to an upright position by the action of the spring 63. As the weight of the golf ball E was instrumental in overbalancing the cradle 5! to cause the foot 86 of the arm 81 .to engage and rest upon the shoulder 92 of the catch 8|, it will be'understood that the absence of a ball upon the tee 65 causes the weight 59 to rock the cradle member 51 to cause the foot 86 to move laterally out; of .the pathof the catch 8|, whereupon the head end of the lever 52 which overbalances the tail end 53 starts downward, and as the lever 5| rocks, the spring 54 moves past center and assists thehead end 52 in its downward movement. In the course of downward movement of the head end 52 of the lever, the same strikes the actuating arm 49 causing the gate 45 to be lifted upwardly to move the finger 4B of the gate out of the path of the ball D, and at which time the tee 65 has moved down to a position adjacent .the discharge end of the chute to receive the ball D which becomes the next ball to be teed. Also during the downward movement of the head end of the lever, the guard member 68 has moved to the position shown in Figure 8, where the portion H thereof ing ofi the tee 65, for the tee at this time assumes a tilting angle as shown in Figure 8. As the head end of the lever moves downwardly, the tail end 53 moves upwardly, during which time the finger acts to confine the ball and prevent it from rollin the basket and by utilizing the: leverage of the tail end 53 of the lever 5I,.the tail end moves downwardly, while the head end moves upwardly. As the basket nears the limit of its. downward movement, the free end of the wire gate 93 strikes the upstanding lug 95, causing the gate 93 to move upwardly and release the :ball now present in the basket,':the said ball rolling onto the runway 32 and coming to a stop at the lower end thereof against the finger 48 of the gate 45, for as the head end of the lever has moved up, it has released the actuating arm 49 whereupon the gate has dropped to ball obstructingposition. As the tee member moves upwardly withthe Weight of the ball upon thetubular tee 65, the foot rides against the bevel or cam face 85 of the catch 8|, and which contacting of these parts causes the spring pressed arm 15 to swing rearwardly to perunit the leg. 86 to move upwardly to a position to engage the shoulder 82 of the catch, whereupon the tee member 60 is held in raised position until such' time as the ball supported by the tubular tee 65 is driven therefrom, and in which case the cycle of operation is repeated. In the event that the supply ofballs in the magazine is exhausted and the last ball'present at the lower end of the runway has rolled onto the tee member 65, the head end of the lever will remain down for there is no ball which may enter the basket 90 to overbalance the head end of the lever, and which stopping of the device indicates that the magazine should be stocked with a supply of golf balls. It will thus be understood that as long as the supply of golf balls is present in the magazine, the device will operate as each ball is driven from the tubular tee 65. There are no foot pedals, hand operated levers, or electric motor switches, for the golfer to operate in order to successively present the golf balls to teed position, thus eliminating the mental hazardwhich is present in the manually operating teeing devices heretofore patented.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the most practical embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that such changes in construction and design ascome within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted toif desired.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new: and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l.'In a golf ball teeing device, a stationary inclined ball runway, a golf ball tee member normally disposed at the lower end of the runway to "receive a golf ball as it rolls therefrom, a ma azine for golf balls, gravity actuated means for delivering a golf ball from the magazine to the upperendof said: runway, means responsive to the actuation of the gravity actuated means for raising the golf ball tee member to a raised tee position,- and latch means operatively associated with the tee member and operatively responsive to the weight of aball supported thereby for securing the tee member in tea position upon its upwardmovement thereto.

j 2. In a. golf ball teeing device, a stationary inclined ball runway, a gate member at the lower end of the runway against which the next ball to be teed is adapted to abut, a golf ball elevator 91 has engaged the actuating arm 29 t cause th {m 'teemember ,movable upwardly to a raised tee gate 26 out of the path of the ball B and the gate 25 to move toan obstructing position relative to the ball A. As the ball B is released, it rolls by gravity down the inclined discharge chute 20 and serving position and downwardly to a lowered ball pick-up positionadjacent the low end of the runway, means acting to normally move the tee. membe'rtov lowered ball pick-up position,

into thebasket -efl. Due to the weightof the ball 7 means operable upon the downward movement of the tee member for opening the gate to permit the next ball to be teed to roll from the runway onto the tee member, a magazine for golf balls, means for automatically delivering a golf ball from the magazine to the upper end of the runway, means responsive to the actuation of the ball delivery means for raising the tee member to tee serving position and for permitting the gate to return to closed position to halt the rolling movement of the ball so delivered, and releasable latch means operatively associated with the tee member and operatively responsive to latching posithe discharge chute, means operable upon the downward movement of the head end of the rock lever for opening the gate at the low end of the runway to release a ball therefrom onto said tee member, means operable upon the upward movement of the tail end of the rock lever for actuating the gate means to release a ball from the tion under the weight of a golf ball supported I thereby for securing the tee member in tee serving position, and operable to releasing position when the tee member is relieved of the weight of the golf bal1 after the same has been knocked therefrom to permit the tee member to move to lowered position under its lowering means to automatically repeat the cycle of operation of the device.

3. In a golf ball teeing device as set forth in claim 2, including a releasable means for preventing unlatching of the releasable latch means upon the absence of a ball at the low discharge end of the chute.

4. An automatic golf ball teeing device including an inclined runway, a normally closed gate at the low end of said runway against which the next ball to be teed is adapted to abut, a rock lever having a normally overbalanced head end and a tail end, a golf ball tee member carried by the head end of the rock lever, a golf ball basket carried by the tail end of the rock lever, a golf ball magazine, means operable upon the downward movement of the head end of said rock lever for opening said gate to enable a ball from the runway to pass onto said tee member, means operable upon the upward movement of the tail end of said rock lever for releasing a single golf ball from the magazine for reception in said basket for overbalancing the head end of said rock lever to move the tee member to raised tee position, means operable upon the down movement of the tail end of the rock lever for releasing a ball therefrom onto the high end of the runwayforpassage therealong to the gate, and means responsive to the weight of a golf ball on the tee member when in raised teed position for preventing downward movement of the head end of the rock lever.

5. An automatic gravity actuated golf ball teeing device including an inclined golf ball runway, a normally closed gate at the lower end of the runway to restrain the passage of a golf ball therefrom, a rock lever having a relatively short normally overbalanced head end, and a normally lighter tail end which is longer than the head end to provide a greater leverage than the head end, a golf ball tee member carried by the head end of the rock lever, a golf ball basket carried by the tail end of said rock lever, a golf ball magazine having a ball discharge chute, gate means normally restraining the passage of a golf ball to magazine for gravitation over the discharge chute into said basket, the weight of the ball in the basket combined with the leverage of the tail end of the rock lever acting to overbalance the head end of the same to cause the head end to rise to raise the tee member to teeing position while the tail end moves downwardly, means operable as the tail end nears the limit of its downward movement to release a ball from the basket onto the high end of the runway for travel downwardly to the low end thereof against said gate, and releasable catch means operatively responsive to latching position by the weight of a golf, ball resting upon the tee member for preventing the head end of the rock lever rom moving downwardly under its overbalancing action.

6. An automatic gravity actuated golf ball teeing device as set forth in claim 5, including in the combination, means preventing the release of the releasable catch means when in catch position, and means responsive to the presence of a ball at the low end of the runway for rendering said last mentioned means inoperative.

7. An automatic gravity actuated golf ball teeing device as set forth in claim 5, including therein guard means for preventing the golf ball from accidentally rolling from the tee member during upward movement of the tee member to tee position,

8. In a golf ball teeing device, an inclined runway, a ball lifting lever, a pivoted gate member at the low end of the runway normally in a down ball obstructing position, a depressible actuating arm for lifting the gate member to raised ball releasing position and disposed in the path of downward movement of said lever, a tee member carried by said lever and adapted to receive a ball from the runway when the lever is in down position and the gate is raised by engagement of the lever with the arm, means for actuating said lever from lowered position to raised position, and releasable catch means responsive to the weight of a ball present upon the tee member for securing the lever in raised position.

9. In a golf ball teeing device as set forth in claim 8, including a means acting to normally prevent the release of the catch means, and trip means responsive to the presence of a ball at the low end of the runway for rendering the last means ineffective.

10. In a golf ball teeing device as set forth in claim 8, including a guard member movable with and relative to the up and down movements of the lever for preventing accidental upsetting of a ball from the tee member during the upward travel of the tee member to raised teed position.

LEONARD GALE. 

